SEC Football: The best quarterback in each program’s history

Before he was polarizing in the NFL, he terrorized SEC football

Jay Cutler gets his fair share of criticism for his up and down NFL career, but at Vanderbilt, he established himself as one of the best quarterbacks in the SEC.

In four seasons at Vanderbilt, Cutler threw for 8,697 yards and 59 touchdowns, both of which rank second in program history. He also added 1,256 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns.

As a Senior in 2005, Cutler earned first-team All-SEC honors after throwing for 3,073 yards and 21 touchdowns while adding 215 rushing yards and a touchdown.

Cutler never was never able to lead a struggling Vanderbilt program to a bowl game, but in 2005, he finished his college career with a 28-24 victory over in-state rival Tennessee in Knoxville to help keep the Volunteers out of a bowl game and a 22-year Commodores losing streak to the Vols.

He was drafted in the first round of the 2006 NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos and went onto spend 12 seasons in the NFL split between Denver, the Chicago Bears and Miami Dolphins.